Imagine going to work in the morning with no guarantees that you will be paid, with no ability to refuse dangerous work, no access to WCB and no right to join a union. And all for possibly less than the minimum wage? Would you go?
Probably not. But every day thousands of farm workers do just that.
Farm workers are exempt for most of the basic employment protections all other Albertans take for granted which makes them very vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. Farm workers have:
- No basic employment protections, such as minimum wage, limits on hours of work, rest breaks, overtime or statutory holiday pay;
- No health and safety protection ;
- No WCB when they get injured; and
- No right to unionize.
The Alberta Federation of Labour wants to change all that. Farming has changed. It is now dominated by huge corporations operating massive hog barns, corporate farms and mushroom factories, employing hundreds of workers. The law needs to reflect this new reality.
The AFL has launched a campaign to remove exemptions from the four employment codes. Working with the Farmworkers Union of Alberta (FUA), the AFL and its affiliates is pressuring the government to change the law.
Summary
A couple of generations ago, most farming was done on family farms. Most agricultural workers were family members or neighbours. Recognizing this, Alberta lawmakers exempted farm workers from employment legislation.
But times have changed. Much of our food production is now done on factory farms - large operations owned by huge corporations. Yet the laws have not changed with the times. Farm workers deserve the same basic rights all other workers take for granted.
In many ways farm workers have been enduring a drought when it comes to legal protections; that's why the AFL has called its campaign the ‘End the Drought' campaign.
About 12,000 people work as farm or agricultural employees in Alberta. About 25% of these people work on a temporary or seasonal basis. And about 300 are classified as foreign or migrant labourers. But the rest are full-time, permanent workers who make their homes in our communities.
These farm workers are excluded from almost all of the legal, workplace protections that other Albertans take for granted. Other workers are protected by laws including the Employment Standards Code, the Occupational Health and Safety Act, the Workers' Compensation Act and the Labour Code.
As a result, if you're a farm worker in Alberta today you work in an extremely insecure environment. You have no protection when it comes to things like hours of work. You're not guaranteed a minimum wage. You're not entitled to overtime. You don't get statutory holidays or vacation pay. You don't have the right to refuse unsafe work and, in most cases, you're not entitled to compensation if you're injured on the job. You don't have the right to join a union. You don't have the right of association that's guaranteed in the Charter of Rights and which is, or will soon be, available to farm workers in every other province.
As a result of all these exclusions, Alberta is once again, at the back of the pack when compared to other provinces. Farm workers here in have fewer rights and fewer workplace protections that their counterparts in any other part of the country.
So, Alberta may be number one in oil, gas and cattle - but we are dead last when it comes to protecting the rights and interests of farm workers.
As employees, we think that farm workers should have the same rights as other employees in the province. As profitable corporations, we think big agricultural employers should have the same obligations to their workers as other employers in the province.
To put it simply, farming in Alberta has changed and we think the law needs to change to reflect those changes. It's time to end the drought in legal protection for farm workers. And it's time to end the free ride for agricultural employers.
